Angelo Sibio- Tiger Strong

Hello, My name is Sage, and I am fundraising for my friend Melissa Sibio and her 11-year-old son, Angelo- who shot himself through the head in a suicide attempt. Melissa is currently out of work and without income while Angelo remains in the ICU. Here is their story in Melissa's own words:

From Melissa: 

I am going to try to replay this horrific day :(

Me and Dave (my husband) left at about 9 AM EST with Freya (Angelo's Service dog) to Cornell University. Freya received severe Third Degree Thermal Burns from a Spay surgery gone wrong and was being referred to a consult there to repair her severe wounds over both sides of her body. When Angelo texted me at 9:15 AM asking for money for his game, I said Yes, but that's it. Angelo then spent a significant amount, and when I tried to reach out to him about it, he would not answer my texts back. He never spent large amounts without permission which told me someone was bothering him on the game, but I didn't overthink it.

I didn't hear anything more until Angelo called me at 1:51 PM and hung up; I called him back immediately, and he responded, "I'm sorry, Mom I have to go, I have to go; I promise I will come back as something else. Something better."

He repeated this a few times as I told him to go to his big brother upstairs and wait for me to get home before he stopped responding to me. It was then that I knew I needed to get his brother, Kyle, to find him right away. I immediately called Kyle telling him to GO and find Angelo RIGHT NOW. Something wasn't right, and I was petrified he would harm himself.

Kyle immediately got up and ran to find Angelo. Angelo was not in his room, so he raced downstairs and heard a noise. He ran towards it. He found Angelo in our bedroom seconds later. All I heard was Kyle scream, "ANGELO, what did you do? ANGELO, what did you do?" in a terrifying yell. I knew in that moment something awful had happened.

I yelled into the phone, "what's wrong? What happened?"

"Angelo has a gun and shot himself in the head!!!! he tried to kill himself!!!"

Kyle immediately jumped into action and wrapped Angelo's head with towels to slow the bleeding while calling 911. 911 probably had four or more calls come in simultaneously, and we were so scared they wouldn't get to him in time. The police and an ambulance arrived, and Kyle was holding Angelo's head, trying to keep him awake and breathing, when an officer asked Kyle if he could ask him a few questions. Kyle Yelled, "I am not F'ing moving until someone takes over my brother!!!" The officer hit the EMT next to him and pointed to Angelo!

Fast forward. Day of the accident. Angelo made it to Golisano's children's hospital because Angelo was still breathing, but barely. They rushed him to CT and surgery. The surgeon spoke with us and told us there was A LOT of damage to the right side of his brain, and they must remove part of his skull on that side. There were also fragments of the bullet left in his brain that they didn't know if they would move, resulting in more complications.

After that surgery, a blood clot formed on the left side of Angelo's brain. They weren't sure if he had a stroke, but they would need to go back into surgery and take the left portion of his skull now. We were told they were taking life-saving measures and that it wasn't something they liked to do, "taking both sides of skull bone," but we agreed to GO and do the surgery, save our boy! so the surgeon did just that. He miraculously saved him!

But I have to add that Kyle, Angelo's Big brother, is his biggest hero. If it had not been for his quick thinking and action within minutes of Angelo causing this damage, Angelo would not be here today or have given the surgeons so much to work with to help him survive. I want to note this as his Big brother is his HERO, along with the surgeons, doctors, nurses, and staff who have worked around the clock for Angelo.

Later that night, Angelo was brought up to the ICU. We were relieved for a moment until the doctor came in and gave us the three spectrums of what we were looking at. Including that, we may need to make decisions based on Angelo's quality of life. One possibility was that it would be in his best interest to send him to Hospice to let nature take its course. He would likely need a feeding tube and oxygen for the rest of his life, and he wouldn't have a quality of life like that. This was something that I never wanted to consider for my 11-year-old son. One hour at a time, they said to us. The following 72 hours would tell us more. It was devastating to think we would have to possibly make life-altering decisions like this for our baby boy.

Night 2 & 3 that I remember especially, Angelo still holding on. He struggled with blood pressure and needed blood transfusions because his body wasn't clotting. It was hour by hour for days.

Night 3 - Angelo was holding on better and started making movements and even following some simple requests. He was on HEAVY pain medication and sedation, and he fought through to let us know he was there! This is the point we were told day to day instead of hour by hour.

Angelo became a miracle show as the neuro team, doctors and nurses wanted to see what he could do and had to see it for themselves to believe it! They couldn't believe that he could respond and process information and was still 'in there.' Finally, the doctor from neurology said enough!!!! I want him left alone and in coma-type sedation for 48-72 hours to rest and heal! So they did, and Angelo slept peacefully.

But then, just a few days later, Angelo had to be rushed to surgery AGAIN because the ventricles in his brain were filling with fluid and swelling faster than the surgical drains could cover. Thank god I was here with him and noticed he had brain fluid leaking from one of his drains. When I brought it up to the night nurse, she dismissed it, but I spoke to the neurologist team in the early morning, and they freaked out! They demanded a CT right then, and within the hour, he was back in surgery to place a stent in his brain to allow the fluid to drain.

Since then, Angelo has made progressions, even tiny ones, almost every day. Although some days he is exhausted and sleeps, he has the doctors stumped and scratching their heads on how he is doing what he is already. He has turned into a miracle at the hospital as no one expected him to make it this far.

Now ONLY 3 weeks into his life-saving miracle surgery, he can move both arms and bend 90 degrees from the elbow. His left hand is stronger and can really grip! but his right hand is weaker. He can wiggle his toes on his left leg when asked, and he now lifts his leg to bend his knee. We can see some movement in the toes and reflexes on the right side too.

Angelo has a long road ahead but is shocking the doctors left and right by surpassing all of their expectations! He can now understand me and likes it when we read books to him, and he can look at the book now and make eye contact with us. Today he even watched a little bit of his favorite cartoon, Puss and Boots.

The doctors decided temporarily that a Tracheostomy (trach) and feed tube would help him to be able to start physical therapy earlier to have a better chance of regaining as much mobility as possible. We aren't sure yet how much mobility he will get back and if he will need speech therapy etc. But we are optimistic he will regain most function now. Angelo keeps proving to us how strong he is!

Angelo will continue to be in the ICU and the hospital and then to a full-time Rehab facility for the next many months, and I cannot leave his side. I am not sure how long I will be out of work, but I must be here100% for my boy and his recovery! He wants to fight to get better, and I will walk with him through that fire every step of the way!

While the medical bills are mounting, I need to focus on Angelo right now. He gets nervous and panics when I am not near him. I need to remain vigilant as his advocate so what happened the night of the stent doesn't happen again. While Angelo remains in 24/7 care and needs me, I will stay right by his side. Since I own my own business, I have no income or money coming in. While I hate to ask for help, my baby's life matters more than my pride. I am begging for assistance in covering my income for the next few months and the expenses on our home so we don't lose it while I stay with Angelo. Angelo needs to have his home and safe space to return to one day, and I am begging for your help.

Anything you can spare is appreciated; this is my worse nightmare. All the prayers, well wishes, and financial support you can offer are truly appreciated from the bottom of my heart and Angelo's.